CARL KOLOGIE: Family was first for Yasick

LAKE WALES, Fla. — We have been on the run this week, mostly with tweaking and sprucing up the residence, inside and outside.

But I did find time for a couple rounds of golf.

On Tuesday we played at Bartow Municipal Course. Our foursome was all county guys that included Hank Minich, who beat me on the last hole when he drained a 50-foot putt; Lou Sutton, a retired IUP phys ed prof; and Charley “Chunda” Wanchism, now an Ohio resident displaced from just outside of Commodore.

Thursday we played at Lakes Wales Country Club. Clymer native Joe Kochman heads up this outing and since it was not 70 degrees when we teed off, Wanchism did not play. So we added Tom Blewes, of Elderton, who made up our foursome with Minich and Sutton.

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I was a little antsy because of the National Football League playoff games last Sunday, but I conceded and joined in with four others, including my brother, and we went to a play at the Lake Wales Little Theatre.

Similar to the Indiana Players and the Philadelphia Street Playhouse, the Lake Wales players are mostly members of the community and the theater is just about the same size.

“The Psychic” was a two-act play that was entertaining and had some really hilarious scenes.

We were out the door at the final curtain and back in time to watch the second game.

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Thursday morning I got the news about the death of Ed Yasick, a retired Indiana Gazette employee whom I worked with for more than 40 years.

Besides being a co-worker, Ed was a great friend and one of the most gentle, kind, considerate people you would want to meet.

He always put his family first and was also very faithful to his church.

The news was just devastating and I send my condolences to his family.

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Friday evening there was a memorial service at the clubhouse of Tower Lakes (the name of our development) for Dean Forsythe, of Apollo.

Many Indiana Countians, mostly members of the Elks or those who played golf at the Apollo Elks, would remember Dean, who served as a trustee at the Apollo Elks and was an avid golfer. A resident of Apollo, he was a former teacher and then started his own fuel oil business.

He was married to the former Carole Burry, and many will remember her father, Hal Burry, who was the head football coach at Westminster when IUP was a regular on the schedule.

Dean, 73, was very personable and well liked as evidenced by the more than 200 who attended the service.

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Like every other sports fan in the area, I was really looking forward to the Indiana High game against Kiski Prep School.

What have we come to when a game is canceled because of tweets? The social network has invaded our lives to the point that sports events can be canceled? This is absolutely ridiculous. These are two really good basketball teams and because of some thoughtless actions by team members, fans are deprived of watching what was billed as an outstanding battle between two talented teams. It’s too bad.